Jake Adelstein
Encyclopedia
Joshua "Jake" Adelstein is an American journalist and writer who has spent much of his career in Japan covering vice and organised crime. For 12 years, Adelstein was a crime reporter for the Yomiuri Shinbun and was the first American to work for a Japanese newspaper as a Japanese language reporter. He left the newspaper after receiving threats against his life and family and was subsequently an investigative reporter for a US State Department investigation into organised crime in Japan. He has written the book Tokyo Vice about his years in Japan and its underworld.
from Missouri
. He went to Japan in 1988, aged 19, to study Japanese literature at Sophia University
and lived in a Buddhist
temple for most of his college years. In 1992 Adelstein successfully applied for a job at the Yomiuri Shinbun through the standard process of entrance exams and interviews, making him the first American citizen to work as a Japanese language reporter for a Japanese newspaper.
Adelstein began work in 1993 in Saitama Prefecture
as a police reporter and by the end of that year was covering organized crime. In his book Tokyo Vice he recounts covering a yakuza
-linked serial killer suspected of feeding victims' bodies to dogs, and a yakuza internal feud involving a gangster nicknamed "The Cat". In 1999 the newspaper relocated him to Tokyo, to cover the Kabukicho
district in particular. He covered events such as the disappearance of Lucie Blackman, liaising with her father and ultimately breaking to him the news of her death. He also investigated human trafficking: one such investigation resulted in the disappearance and reputed torture and murder of a prostitute source.
In 2005, Adelstein learned that the notorious "John Gotti
of Japan", Tadamasa Goto
, had received a liver transplant in the United States. He was interested in the information as Goto was known to the US authorities and, Adelstein believed, could only have entered the US covertly or through bribery. Adelstein was then threatened by Goto’s enforcers and consequently quit the Yomiuri Shinbun. Adelstein briefly returned to the US with his family with a view to entering law school. He shortly returned to Japan as an investigator for a State Department-sponsored investigation of human trafficking in Japan. He also resumed investigation of the story of Goto's liver transplant with the view to writing a book and eventually discovered that Goto had made a deal with the FBI to arrange entry to the US in return for intelligence on the Japanese mafia. Adelstein was unable to find a publication in Japan willing to run the story and it was ultimately first published in English by The Washington Post
.
Adelstein authored the book Tokyo Vice, an account of his life as an investigative reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun and US State Department. TIME
praised the book's "noirish" dialogue and compared it to an Al Pacino
, Mark Wahlberg
or Martin Scorsese
movie. Another book, The Last Yakuza: A Lifetime in the Japanese Underworld, is planned for 2011. Adelstein previously wrote an article with the same title, which "refers to the old guard yakuza who obeyed some unwritten rules of peaceful coexistence with the political and law enforcement sphere."
Adelstein is married to Sunao Adelstein and has a daughter, Beni, and a son, Ray. He wrote that his wife "raised our children almost single handedly." They have lived in both Japan and the US, the latter after Adelstein fled Goto's threats. After reading Tokyo Vice's account of Adelstein's career, his wife was "supportive and understanding" but he worried that the book left his marriage "irreparably damaged". He said that nevertheless "I want my kids to understand why I did the things I did, and why we had to move to the United States".
Biography
Adelstein is a Jewish AmericanAmerican Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. He went to Japan in 1988, aged 19, to study Japanese literature at Sophia University
Sophia University
There are several rankings below related to Sophia University.-General Rankings:The university was ranked 61st in 2010 in the ranking Truly Strong Universities by Toyo Keizai...
and lived in a Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
temple for most of his college years. In 1992 Adelstein successfully applied for a job at the Yomiuri Shinbun through the standard process of entrance exams and interviews, making him the first American citizen to work as a Japanese language reporter for a Japanese newspaper.
Adelstein began work in 1993 in Saitama Prefecture
Saitama Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Saitama.This prefecture is part of the Greater Tokyo Area, and most of Saitama's cities can be described as suburbs of Tokyo, to which a large amount of residents commute each day.- History...
as a police reporter and by the end of that year was covering organized crime. In his book Tokyo Vice he recounts covering a yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
-linked serial killer suspected of feeding victims' bodies to dogs, and a yakuza internal feud involving a gangster nicknamed "The Cat". In 1999 the newspaper relocated him to Tokyo, to cover the Kabukicho
Kabukicho
is an entertainment and red-light district in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. Kabukichō is the location of many hostess bars, host bars, love hotels, shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, and is often called the "Sleepless Town"...
district in particular. He covered events such as the disappearance of Lucie Blackman, liaising with her father and ultimately breaking to him the news of her death. He also investigated human trafficking: one such investigation resulted in the disappearance and reputed torture and murder of a prostitute source.
In 2005, Adelstein learned that the notorious "John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
of Japan", Tadamasa Goto
Tadamasa Goto
is a retired yakuza. He was the founding head of the Goto-gumi, a Fujinomiya-based affiliate of Japan's largest known yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi....
, had received a liver transplant in the United States. He was interested in the information as Goto was known to the US authorities and, Adelstein believed, could only have entered the US covertly or through bribery. Adelstein was then threatened by Goto’s enforcers and consequently quit the Yomiuri Shinbun. Adelstein briefly returned to the US with his family with a view to entering law school. He shortly returned to Japan as an investigator for a State Department-sponsored investigation of human trafficking in Japan. He also resumed investigation of the story of Goto's liver transplant with the view to writing a book and eventually discovered that Goto had made a deal with the FBI to arrange entry to the US in return for intelligence on the Japanese mafia. Adelstein was unable to find a publication in Japan willing to run the story and it was ultimately first published in English by The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
.
Adelstein authored the book Tokyo Vice, an account of his life as an investigative reporter for the Yomiuri Shimbun and US State Department. TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
praised the book's "noirish" dialogue and compared it to an Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
, Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg
Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg is an American actor, film and television producer, and former rapper. He was known as Marky Mark in his earlier years, and became famous for his 1991 debut as a musician with the band Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. He was named No. 1 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of...
or Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
movie. Another book, The Last Yakuza: A Lifetime in the Japanese Underworld, is planned for 2011. Adelstein previously wrote an article with the same title, which "refers to the old guard yakuza who obeyed some unwritten rules of peaceful coexistence with the political and law enforcement sphere."
Adelstein is married to Sunao Adelstein and has a daughter, Beni, and a son, Ray. He wrote that his wife "raised our children almost single handedly." They have lived in both Japan and the US, the latter after Adelstein fled Goto's threats. After reading Tokyo Vice's account of Adelstein's career, his wife was "supportive and understanding" but he worried that the book left his marriage "irreparably damaged". He said that nevertheless "I want my kids to understand why I did the things I did, and why we had to move to the United States".
External links
- Random House Author Spotlight
- Japan Subculture Research Center where Adelstein is a contributor